Planes vs trains - safety

[rottie102]

m I the only person in the world that feels safer on the plane than on the train?
I guess in my head if there's a problem during the flight the pilots can still do something- avoiding manouvers, dump fuel, land somewhere else etc. With train there's literally nothing the driver can do apart from pressing the brakes button and hoping for a miracle...

[droopsnoot]

It depends on what the problem is - total power failure would scare me more on a plane than in a train, as the train would just coast to a halt, maybe miles from the nearest convenient stop, but only along, not up.

[rottie102]

droopsnoot said:

It depends on what the problem is - total power failure would scare me more on a plane than in a train, as the train would just coast to a halt, maybe miles from the nearest convenient stop, but only along, not up.

I didn't say there's logic behind it...
Maybe it's also the fact that I fly way more than I travel by train so I'm just not used to it as much. Plus when you look through the window on the plane nothing is really moving despite the fact that you're traveling many times faster when on the train you get greater sensation of speed

[Chrisgr31]

rottie102 said:

I didn't say there's logic behind it...

There's definitely no logic behind it because at least if it all goes wrong in a train you are already on the ground, not 30,000ft above it. If a train hits another train you have a relatively high chance of surviiving, if 2 planes collide at 30,000ft your survival chances aren't great!

[Edinburger]

Statistically, you'd have to do a return flight five days per week for 28,500 years to be in a plane crash. And statistically, you're more likely to survive it.

Source:Cathay Pacific

[rottie102]

Edinburger said:

Statistically, you'd have to do a return flight five days per week for 28,500 years

That's what it feels like sometimes

Edinburger said:

And statistically, you're more likely to survive it.

Hah!

Edinburger said:

Source:Cathay Pacific

What does Virgin Trains say?

[matchmaker]

Edinburger said:

Statistically, you'd have to do a return flight five days per week for 28,500 years to be in a plane crash. And statistically, you're more likely to survive it.

Source:Cathay Pacific

I'm not sure what the corresponding figure is for rail travel, but it must be pretty low as well.

And as for survivability? Very high these days.

[ralphrj]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_safety#Stati...

Worth reading the piece below the table to understand how difficult it is to make meaningful comparisons.

[onyx39]

I suspect that the manufacturing process for aviation is far more "controlled" in aviation, so less chance of mechanical failure.
Obviously if you have a full blown mechanical failure on a plane it's likely to cause an issue, but unless a wing falls ff, the chances are, the pilot will be able to get down safely.